"Embracing Change
I would embrace change gladly
if the damned thing would stand still
long enough for me to wrap my arms
around its eely body. If its snaky locks
would stop giving me the Medusa stare.
If it did not smell like death, like an old boot,
like Brussel sprouts in the overnight pan.
If its touch wasn't ice, shards in my heart,
when I am looking for a dram of warm comfort.
Oh, I would embrace change, if it didn't mean
you dying, the children growing up and away,
girlfriends talking behind my back,
editors moving west or starting a boutique,
friends marrying the wrong women,
that kind of change.
I'm looking to embrace upward mobility,
saving the whales, a chance at a big grant,
banning fracking, delivering the death blow
to the Tea Party, a smart funny man in my bed.
Though not you. Never you again. Even I
know an un-embraceable fantasy when I write it.
©2013 Jane Yolen all rights reserved